Real Estate Briefs (Sara/Mana)

Real Estate Briefs (Sara/Mana)

Gevity Announces Relocation to Lakewood Ranch

Chalk up another victory for the leasing team at Osprey Management Co. LLC. After less than a year on the market, the real estate company has leased the 100,000-square-foot former ADT Security building in Lakewood Ranch to Gevity Inc., a human resources management firm.

The announcement ends Gevity's nearly two-year search for a site. Previous proposed sites for the 500-person company included locations in the Tampa area and Palmetto.

ADT Security Services used the Lakewood Ranch facility as a call center until it abandoned the building in November 2003.

In June 2004, ADT Security sold the building, at 9000 Town Center Parkway, to Osprey Real Estate Services LLC, a partnership between officials from Brighton, Mich.-based Osprey s.a. Ltd., the Starling Group and Osprey Management.

"The biggest driver was the actual facility," says Anne-Marie Magela, senior director of investor relations for Gevity. "We wanted to stay within Manatee County and meet that objective. The facilities there are top-notch, state of art with excellent security and incredible redundancy for emergency purposes - and you have room to grow. It kind of hit on everything."

Magela says the company will relocate to the facility in stages, starting Oct. 1, and complete the move by year's end. It has 10-year lease in the new building. ADT will still continue to occupy a small space in its original building.

Magela says Gevity's employees are moving into a facility equipped with technological infrastructure and furniture. The firm will leave its old furniture and fixtures in its present location at 600 301 Blvd. W., across the street from the DeSoto Square Mall.

Gevity has leased its 107,000-square-foot office complex in Bradenton for nearly a decade from Sarasota businessman Mark Famiglio. The company was previously known as Staff Leasing.

"(The Lakewood Ranch building) provides us with a state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and the flexible space to create a more efficient work environment," Erik Vonk, chairman and chief executive officer of Gevity, says in a press release. "With plenty of adjacent room for expansion, this is a building that will serve us very well going forward."

Magela says the building has enough land surrounding it for the company to add two additional wings, if necessary.

Brian Kennelly, director of leasing for Osprey Real Estate Services and Osprey Management, says the building was leased more quickly than anticipated. "I would say this is definitely on the low side," Kennelly says. "When we did our initial analysis of the building, we anticipated dividing it up for multiple tenants, but we got so many inquires from single tenant users that we decided we had to position it that way. We have had to turn away a lot of high-profile smaller users. ... This is a win, win for Bradenton and Gevity."

As for Gevity's current building, Famiglio says he has known about Gevity's planned move for a couple years.

"We are planning to change the use and redevelop that building (600 301 Blvd. W.) and other areas surrounding it," Famiglio says. "I'm thinking of having some commercial retail, some office and a few other uses. This is admissible under the existing zoning."

Famiglio, who has already leased portions of the surrounding buildings to nonprofits, such as the Manatee Community Foundation Inc., plans to add more nonprofit tenants in conjunction with attracting a number of for-profit national tenants.

Further, he says with the predicted widening of Cortez Road near the Desoto Square mall and the improving importance of 301 Boulevard West, he hopes to work with the mall's owner, Simon Property Group, on the future redevelopment.

Charlotte Development Corp.

Finding Success in North Port

BUYER: Charlotte Development Corp., Port Charlotte

SELLER: North Port Land Group

PROPERTY: 14750 S. Tamiami Trail, North Port

PRICE: $1.24 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $170,000, Jan. 2000

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Greenberg Traurig PA, Boca Raton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Charlotte Development Corp. has set its eyes on developing North Port Commons, a complex of four office/warehouse buildings with a total of 62,000 square feet. So far all of the condominium space has been sold along with about 35% of the remaining leaseable space. The lease rate for the space starts at $17 a square foot triple net.

"Demand for this has been a lot stronger than our other projects," says Ron Oskey Jr., manager of Charlotte Development Corp. "We are planning for completion in January of '06. We have about 11.5 acres of land to the north of that under contract so we could be looking at doing another 100,000 square feet. It would be called North Port Commons II."

The general contractor for the space is Naples-based Vanderbilt Bay Construction.

Charlotte Development Corp. mortgaged the land to Florida Community Bank for $1.5 million.

Czaia & Gallagher

Relocating to Fifth Street

BUYER: CJKM Holdings LLC (Kevin Gallagher and C.J. Czaia), Sarasota

SELLER: Jobe LLC

PROPERTY: 4416, 4418 and 4420 W. 5th St., Bradenton

PRICE: $490,000

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Barnes Walker Title Inc., Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The two partners in the Sarasota-based personal injury law firm of Czaia & Gallagher LLP have purchased three units in Gazebo Square Commercial at 4416, 4418 and 4420 W. 5th St., Bradenton.

"We bought it just to allow us to expand our practice," C.J. Czaia says. "We are out of space where we are now (at our headquarters office, 7421 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota). There is just a real lack of good legal space for a reasonable price."

Czaia & Gallagher has satellite locations from Collier County to Hillsborough County. The partners have not decided whether to lease or sell the Tamiami Trail location after the practice moves to its new offices in the year's fourth quarter.

Palmetto-based Zirkelbach Construction is renovating the interior of the three units. The new space is about 3,700 square feet.

Southeast Roofing Buys

Vacant Land on 26th Court

BUYER: Southeast Roofing Consultants Inc., Sarasota

SELLER: 26th Court East Park LLC

PROPERTY: 6761 26th Court E., Bradenton

PRICE: $450,000

PREVIOUS PRICE: $390,000, May 2004

TITLE COMPANY ON DEED: Chelsea Title Co., Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Faced with a business that is bursting at the seams, the Dehart family's Southeast Roofing Consultants purchased vacant land on 26th Court East, Bradenton.

"Almost a year ago, we bought a preconstruction bay and office down the street (about 1,750 square feet)," says Stephen Dehart, president of Southeast Roofing. "We were supposed to move in this October, but it was delayed. Now we are hoping to be in by August. But we have already outgrown it so we bought more land across the street. We should be able to build a 6,000- to 7,000-square-foot warehouse office building there. But for the moment we will use it to store our vehicles. We might move a portable office there."

Asked why the business is moving so quickly, Dehart says the company's revenue has almost tripled in the past year.

"We have been increasing every year by about 50%," Dehart says, "but with the hurricane it vaulted us to about 250% last year. The second problem is the we only have five parking spots (in the new building under construction), and I have 12 trailers."

Three Investors Buy

Sarasota's JJJ Nursery

BUYER: Sun-Fire Nurseries LLC (Terry and Brent Higgins and Richard Tringali), Sarasota

SELLER: Natrich LLC

PROPERTY: 7091 Myakka Valley Trail, Sarasota

PRICE: $400,000

PREVIOUS PRICE: $69,000, July 1997

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Icard Merrill Cullis Timm Furen & Ginsburg PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Terry and Brent Higgins and Richard Tringali have purchased the land and business of JJJ Nursery. The land includes about 23 acres on Myakka Valley Trail with eight acres devoted to greenhouse space.

"We are new to the business ... (but) we are planning on expanding it and adding several new employees," Terry Higgins says.

Sun-fire Nurseries LLC mortgaged the property to JJJ Nursery LLC for $185,556 and to Natrich LLC for $397,200.

Willette Automotive

Changes Stores

BUYER: Willette Automotive Inc. (Brian and Karen Willette), Venice

SELLER: Estate of Violet Schimmel

PROPERTY: 405 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice

PRICE: $705,000

PREVIOUS PRICE: $267,100, June 1992

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Levin Tannenbaum Wolff Band Gates & Pugh, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Willette Automotive officials purchased the 7,000-square-foot former Goodyear Tire retail store to relocate its automobile repair shop. The new building is considerably larger than the former repair shop location at 207 Tamiami Trail S., Venice, which only offered 2,202 square feet of space.

Willette Automotive mortgaged the property to People's Community Bank of the West Coast for $300,000.

Etc...

• Ralph and Edward Curry purchased a 960-square-foot office space at 3982 Bee Ridge, Unit L, from JWJ Holdings Inc. for $186,000. The Currys will use the space as a real estate office. Larry Schaper, a broker-associate in the Michael Saunders & Co. Commercial Group, represented JWJ Holdings.

• John Georgi purchased a 1.25-acre lot, at 1060 Goodrich Ave., Sarasota, from 214 Main Street Corp. for $550,000. Ian Black and Steve Horn, of Ian Black Real Estate, handled the transaction.

• Four Palms Plaza LLC purchased a 7,700-square-foot building, at 1865 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice, from Brothers SPE LLC for $930,000. Ian Black and Steve Horn, of Ian Black Real Estate, and Tom Coppola and Gerald Raasch, of Century 21 Sorrento Realty, handled the transaction.

• Hillview Property Management LLC purchased a 3,030-square-foot medical office condominium, at 1762 Hawthorne St., Unit 5, Sarasota, from Lexi Properties LLC for $884,000. Ian Black and Steve Horn, of Ian Black Real Estate, handled the transaction.

• Wallace Avenue LLC purchased a 941-square-foot office condominium, at 100 Wallace Ave., Suite 130, Sarasota, from H&M Holdings LLC. Steve Horn, of Ian Black Real Estate, and Assist 2 Sell from Miami handled the transaction.

• Succession Planners LLC leased 3,000 square feet from Abel, Band, Russell, Collier, Pitchford & Gordon for three years at 240 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Steve Horn, of Ian Black Real Estate, handled the transaction.

• Sonshine Computers, d/b/a NextWave Computers, leased 1,660 square feet from Bersam Development Co. for three years at 3908B Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Debbie Anglin, of Ian Black Real Estate, and Barry Seidel, of American Property Group, handled the transaction.

• Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. leased 1,816 square feet from Starward Partnership for three years at 5959 Cattlemen Lane, Sarasota. Debbie Anglin, of Ian Black Real Estate, and Marcia Sevigny, of Osprey Management Co., handled the transaction.

• SB LLC purchased about 43 acres at 27th Street E., Bradenton, from George Anderson and David Cornelius for $855,000. The buyer plans to develop the property into about 100 single-family homes. Tony Veldkamp of Michael Saunders & Co's The Commercial Group, represented the sellers.

• Richard Berialt, of Florida Realty Group, and Diane Trehorne, of York Management Inc., leased 777 Palm Ave., Unit 9, Sarasota, from Kodra Professionals. Karen Cook, of Michael Saunders & Co.'s The Commercial Group, represented the owner/landlord.

• Calabasas, Calif.-based Ryland Homes has released seven new home sites at River Plantation, located on Fort Hammer and Mulholland Roads in Parrish. The three- and four-bedroom homes at River Plantation are priced from the $270,000s to the $340,000s and range in size from 1,737 square feet to 3,084 square feet. Ryland is one of the nation's largest home builders and is a leading mortgage-finance company. The company currently operates in 27 markets across the country and has built more than 230,000 homes.

• David Stevenson leased 1,370 square feet in 777 Palm Ave., Unit 1, Sarasota, from Kodra Professionals. Karen Cook, of Michael Saunders & Co.'s The Commercial Group, represented the owner/landlord. Stevenson, a physical therapist, leased the additional space to expand his existing office.

• Susanne Eden of Vacation Rentals rented three units, at 2750 Stickney Point Road, Units 208, 209 and 210, Sarasota, from Serena Lennox Trustee for $525,000. Karen Cook, of Michael Saunders & Co.'s The Commercial Group, represented the seller. John Eden represented the buyer.

• Granite Reit Corp. purchased an 11,500-square-foot light industrial building, at 4320 Independence Court, Sarasota, from RB-1 Inc. for $850,000. Granite Reit Corp. mortgaged the property to Bank of America NA for $642,500. William Rex, of Preferred Commercial Inc., represented the seller, and Nicholas Isil, of RoseBay Real Estate, represented the buyer.

• The developers behind The Founders Club, Tom Brown and Jay Tallman of U.S. Assets Group and Fred Starling of the Starling Group, bought about 1.5 acres on Vicela Drive in Sarasota across from the 700-acre gated community based around a private golf course for $810,700.

• Todd Leoni of Miami's Northport 441 LLC purchased a 38,000-square-foot medical building, at 15121 S. Tamiami Trail, North Port, from Milton and Brindell Gottlieb, individual and trustee, for $2.3 million. Leoni describes the purchase as a long-term investment and says he will act as the landlord for the triple net lease with tenants such as Bon Secours.

• 214 Main Street Corp. purchased 27,358 square feet of land, at 1331 10th St., Sarasota, from Jack & Jill Investments Inc. for $975,000. Ian Black and Steve Horn, of Ian Black Real Estate, handled the transaction.

• Kingdom Worldwide Web Operation Inc. leased 10,000 square feet at 1492 State St., Sarasota, from Bob Windom. Kingdom Worldwide is relocating from Gainesville. Ken Hoskinson, of Hembree and Associates, represented the owner.

• Frank and Adele Davis bought a warehouse building at 5823 21st St. E., Bradenton, in 301 Park of Commerce from Spectrum Custom Molds Inc. for $599,983. The property is being leased to Walt and Betty Spangler for their business Door Solutions.

• LandMark Bank of Florida will open a fifth Sarasota County banking location in this year's fourth quarter. The new center is at 8444 South Tamiami Trail, on the west side of U.S. 41, south of Vamo Road and North of Central Sarasota Parkway. The location is currently a SouthTrust Bank branch. LandMark Bank will take possession of the new location in September, and expects to open in October.

Since opening in 2000, LandMark Bank has expanded from one location to four, including a part-time banking location within the Sunnyside Village Retirement Community. In five years, the bank has built an asset base exceeding $200 million.

• Grace Bible Foundation Inc. purchased a 3,000-square-foot office building on a 35,000 square-foot lot, at 2600 Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, from Jenkins Starr LLC for $700,000. Peter Bartys, of Michael Saunders & Co.'s The Commercial Group, represented the seller; Keller Williams represented the buyer.

• Access Mortgage of Florida LLC, a commercial and residential financing group has leased 1,500 square feet of office space at Peridia Commons, 5266 Office Park Blvd., Bradenton, from Thomason & Thomason. The space will be a lending unit for the new tenant. Bob Brillon, of Michael Seery & Associates negotiated the terms of the deal.

• Airfleet has leased 900 square feet of office space at 1461 Tallevast Road from Airport Commerce Center. The transaction was handled by Airport Commerce Center.

• 4900 Trust purchased about 3,700 square feet of office/warehouse, located at 5770 Sarah Ave., Sarasota, from 5770 Sarah Avenue Associates for $875,000. Jon Kleiber, of Richardson Kleiber Walter Kleiber Partnership handled the transaction.

• B.H.D. Precision Products Inc. leased 4,000 square feet of office/warehouse space, at 1470 12th St., Sarasota, from James Ferguson. Jon Kleiber, of Richardson Kleiber Walter Kleiber Partnership handled the transaction.

• Beeman Enterprises Inc. leased 8,220 square feet of office/warehouse space, at 1734 Apex Road, Sarasota, from Tom Johanning. Bill Kleiber, of Richardson Kleiber Walter Kleiber Partnership handled the transaction.

• Houston-based New Plan Excell Realty Trust Inc. transferred the 170,000-square-foot Sarasota Village shopping center from CA New Plan Venture Fund LLC to CA New Plan Sarasota LP for about $13.7 million. The internal transaction allowed CA New Plan Sarasota LP to mortgage the Publix-anchored shopping center to Bank of America for $10.85 million.

• Jeffrey Jones' Sarasota Restaurant Corp. bought property at 351 N. Cattlemen Road, Sarasota from Southcoast Restaurants for $1.5 million. The new owner mortgaged the property to Fifth Third Bank for $1 million.

• AMI Beach Resort LLP purchased the Anna Maria Island Beach Resort, at 105 39th St., Holmes Beach, from Anna Maria Island Beach Resort LC for $4 million. AMI Beach Resort LLP mortgaged the resort property to Mercantile Bank for $4.03 million.